lalawgirl

We booked a tour through toursbylocals with Greta last summer. Normally her husband drives while she guides but she was not feeling well so we just had Minda. Nonethless, we had a lovely time -- a drive out to the seaside town where the amber museum is... time for a stroll, lunch, and then back to town for a tour as well. Highly recommended.

Greta L.

guide_3403-130@toursbylocals.com

Sixt had the best rates for our needs as is picking us up at the ship.

 

Greg

Hi Greg -- How did Sixt work out for you? Any problems picking up or dropping off at the port?

Do you recall what you paid approximately for the rental?

Thank you!

They told us they'd meet us right outside the port gate with a sign.

It is obvious. Just leave enough time to walk through the full port area... 10 min from ship to gate or so

I would book a private taxi minivan. Do a search on the board for names. We did the private taxi route a few years ago and it was perfect. We were into Athens in no time (20 -25 min) and were dropped off at the acropolis. We had a meeting place in the plaka for pick up ... we left ourselves 1 hour from "all aboard" and were fine on timing.

Have fun!

We chose SPB tours because we wanted the experience of eating in a Russian restaurant 2 times. I know that eating on the run is fine for some, but not for us. There is just so much one can see in a day and another 1/2 really won't make that much of a difference. We enjoyed to time to sit down, relax and think about what we've seen and where we have been. Again, that's just us. Since we don't eat meat, they ahd a very good fish dinner for us.

 

Cheers

 

Len

We used TJ's last summer -- it was a wonderful experience! We weren't sure we'd want to waste time eating lunch when our time in the city was so short -- but, as it turned out -- it was VERY hot both days (into the 100s) and we very much enjoyed the short time out to sit in the AC, enjoy a nice Russian meal, and have a cold local brew. (Oh, and a clean bathroom never hurts). Both times we ate in local restaurants.

We really loved having the private tour experience -- a little more time at this stop, shorter at the next, hey, that's a cool statute/monument tell us about it -- can we stop for a photo -- that sort of thing.

I contacted them and they want 50% up front. I was trying to organize for our roll call, but don't want to pay for everyone. How did you work it? (this is for the 3 hr private tour)

hmmm... the deposit must be a new thing. I even double checked my emails from last summer to make sure I was not mis-remembering. I did pre-pay for the tour, but it was just my family, so that made things easier! I've shared tours with other cruise critic folks in the past -- they've spotted me for the deposit and vice versa. I've also done the paypal thing on other tours where the deposit was higher so one person was not out the whole amount.

good luck -- and enjoy Tallin. It really was a delightful stop.

We booked a walking tour through Tallinn Traveller Tours last summer. The guide was a local university student. Very highly recommended.

One tip: you'll need to make your way all of the way out of the cruise port area to meet your guide. Keep walking through all the stores, etc. to the gate.

We booked a walking tour through Tallinn Traveller Tours last summer. The guide was a local university student. Very highly recommended.

One tip: you'll need to make your way all of the way out of the cruise port area to meet your guide. Keep walking through all the stores, etc. to the gate.

hi folks -- my family used totally driven last summer, first for LHR to London transport then London to Dover. Each time we received excellent service. I would recommend 100%. You can prepay on line for a small discount.

Hey folks!

We visited Lithuania last summer. We took a chance on a guide from toursbylocals and were very pleased. We went to the Amber Museum first and then back to town, all by private van.

http://www.toursbylocals.com/KlaipedaShoreTour

Enjoy!

We loved Lithuania! Sorry to hear some were disappointed. We booked a private tour through toursbylocals. (Greta and Minde) As far as I can tell, we were the only ones on our ship who booked a local tour not through the ship. It was well worth the money. Palanga (seaside resort) was wonderful, as was the small city center. The public art was a real highlight.

And for those planning for next year: Lithuania is adopting the euro on January 1st 2015.

True -- but they are in the transition phase now (2014) and all prices in stores/vendors show both Litas and Euros.

We used TJ Tours in July for a private excursion for our family of four. I can't recall the exact name but it was the that included lunches, too. (It was nice to sit and rest and eat in the AC-- both lunches were quite good!)

The tour went at our pace, which we appreciated. Another thing I appreciated was that the "out of town places" were included in day 1; day 2 was the more local sites. We never had any concerns about missing the ship, and we even finished a little early on day 2.

Our guide, Daria, and driver, were both amazing. The van was clean with great AC!

We had an amazing experience and would not hesitate to recommend TJ in a heartbeat.

Have used them for the last 10 years or so with no problems.

Thanks for the reply. Do you tip on top of the quoted rate? If so, how much?

I can't tell if gratuities are included or not.

Hi,

I am looking at Totally Driven for a ride from London to the Dover Cruise port. The price is less expensive than some other companies that I've looked at. Has anyone used them? Are they reputable?

 

Thanks!

SBB: did you end up using them? I'm looking at them too? Anyone else have any experience with them?

relax in the Boboli gardens...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boboli_Gardens

Last July, we were able to self disembark with all of our luggage -- no problem -- about 6 AM for a 10:00 flight.

HAL managed to scare the $%&% out of me -- they kept repeating throughout the cruise that there would be no taxis at the port. My sister and I figured if that was true, we'd take the peoplemover to the Pizziaa Roma -- the big parking lot and catch a taxi there.

When we got off the ship we walked over to a bunch of vans that were parked and asked the drivers how much to take us to the airport -- I think we paid 7E each, which ended up being cheaper than a taxi.

It's probably a 15-20 minute ride to the airport. You don't need to get there much more than 2 hours before your flight -- if you get there any earlier, the check in counters probably will not be open.

Enjoy!

Such a shame about Ekol requiring a shopping stop. That said, I've sat through a carpet demonstration before and it's actually a lot of fun. It's also nice to sit in the AC, enjoy a drink, and use a clean bathroom.

As for the poster asking about what time to meet the guide -- the earlier, the better! We met our guide with Ekol a few minutes before 7. Well worth getting up a little early to avoid the heat and crowds.

As for the poster asking about the Terrace Houses -- Yes! Well worth the $10! The Terrace Houses were included in our tour with Ekol... I couldn't believe all the folks on the ship's tour I heard complaining that 1) the Terrace Houses were not included in their tour price and 2) for those that wanted to go on their own, they were not given enough time.

We used Ekol last summer -- fantastic. no deposit necessary. Our guide was great with rests and breaks. Answered all of our questions. When we asked if we wanted to see the carpet demonstration, we politely said no, and that was is. One thing I do recommend is an early pickup -- we docked by 6:30 am. we were one of the first off the ship and our guide was there at 7 already waiting for us. We made it to the House of the Virgin Mary right as it opened -- had the place to ourselves. Magical.

Any recommendations for a beach in town?

I'm sorry to tell you that there are not taxis lined up the dock in Whittier. Whittier has no taxi service and trust me an Anchorage taxi driver is not going to drive 60 miles (one way), pay to go through the tunnel and wait for a ship to dock. The Princess rep must of been thinking about Vancouver.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

I saw two or three taxis in Whittier as we diembarked in July 2007. No idea about a set rate with Princess, as I was on Carnival.

Try the magic bus. I used them with no problems; I think it was around $42 pp last summer.

There is only official 4x4 company on Bora Bora, which I was very disappointed to hear at the dock as the only practical way to see the remaining WWII guns is through a 4x4 tour.

My friend and I ended up hiring a local guide off the dock who took us on basically the same tour. However, his English was not the best, and he didn't seem as knowledgeable as the offical guides. It was still a fun ride!